accreditation. Approval given by various trade associations to a travel agency allowing the sale of tickets and other accommodations.

accrual method. An accounting system in which the recording of income and expenses is adjusted to reflect the time periods to which they apply, as opposed to the time monies were received or disbursed. See also cash method.

ACI. Assist Card International.

ACI-NA. Airports Council International, North America.

ACK. CRS. Acknowledge.

ACON. CRS. Air conditioned.

ACRA. American Car Rental Association.

acrophobia. Fear of heights.

act of God. A meteorological or seismic event over which a travel provider has no control and, hence, no legal responsibility. See also, force majeure.

ACTA. Alliance of Canadian Travel Associations.

ACTE. Association of Corporate Travel Executives.

actual flying time. Total time spent in the air, as opposed to scheduled flight time or time spent waiting on the ground.

ACV. Abr. Air cushioned vehicle. Hovercraft (qv).

AD. 1. CRS. Agent's discount. When followed by a number, indicates the percentage amount of the discount. For example: AD75 indicates a discount to travel agents of 75% off unrestricted coach fares. 2. Abr. Lat. Anno Domini, "year of our Lord."

ADA room. A hotel room that complies with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

ad hoc. Lat. Of tours, put together on a customized or one-time basis, usually from existing options.

ADB. CRS. 1. Advise if duplicate booking. 2. Air discount bulletin.

add/coll. Abr. Additional collection. add-on fare. Amount added to a gateway fare (qv) to arrive at a through fare (qv). Sometimes called a proportional fare.

add-on(s). Anything optional purchased by a passenger, as in tour arrangements.

airline codes. Specifically, the unique two- or three-digit indicators that identify specific airlines in CRS systems. More loosely, all such unique indicators, including those that identify airports.

airline designator. Two- or three-digit alphanumeric code for an air carrier, administered by IATA (qv).

airline plate. A metal plate given to travel agencies by airlines for the purpose of imprinting and thereby validating tickets. See also plates.

Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC). An autonomous corporation created by the domestic airlines. Appoints travel agencies to sell airline tickets and oversees the financial details of tracking payments to airlines and the disbursement of commissions to travel agencies.

airport access fee. The fee paid to an airport management by a car rental company for the privilege of operating its vans and buses on the airport grounds, usually passed on to the consumer.

airport codes. Three-letter codes used to uniquely identify all airports.

airport tax. A local tax imposed on air tickets and passed along to passengers, ostensibly used to fund airport maintenance, expansion, and similar expenditures.

airport transfer. Transportation provided by a tour operator to a passenger to/from an airport, usually to/from a hotel.

airsickness. Nausea or other discomfort caused by the motion of an aircraft.

airway. See jetway.

airworthy. Capable of being flown. Safe, of an aircraft.

aka. Abr. Also known as.

alcove. A small section of a room, indented into the wall or otherwise set apart.

alfresco. It. In the open air, as in alfresco dining.

all inclusive. One price covers all listed elements of the package.

alleyway. A corridor or passage on a ship.

all-in. Slang. All inclusive, as a tour.

allotment. The number of seats, cabins, berths, etc. available for sale by a supplier or agent.

all-suite. Adj. Describing a hotel in which all rooms have a separate living room and/or kitchen facilities.

all-terrain vehicle. A one- or two-person motorized vehicle with large wheels designed for recreational use on uneven ground or sand.

aloha. The Hawaiian word for both "hello" and "good-bye."

alongside. Describing a ship when next to a pier or another vessel.

ALPA. Airline Pilots Association. alphanumeric. Composed of both letters and numbers, as in a record locator number (qv).

alternate distribution system. Any system that bypasses travel agencies in selling travel arrangements. Usually used to refer to the distribution of tickets through personal computers and ETDNs (qv).

alternate restaurant. On a cruise ship, a restaurant at which the passenger must pay either the full cost of the meal or a service charge, as opposed to those dining rooms whose meals are included in the price of the cruise.

altiport. An airport or airstrip in a high, mountainous region.

altitude. Height above sea level.

alumni rates. Fares reserved for passenger who have previously sailed with a cruise line.

a.m. Abr. Lat. Ante meridian. Morning; between midnight and noon.

Amadeus¨ . A computerized reservations system (qv).

ambassador. The highest ranking diplomatic representative of one country to the government of another. The executive in charge of an embassy, typically located in the capitol city.

ambiance. n. The overall look and feel of a restaurant, hotel, destination, or the mood or atmosphere it creates.

amenities. The facilities and features of a property, usually a hotel.

American plan. A meal plan at a hotel or resort in which three meals a day are included in the price. Sometimes referred to as Full American Plan.

AMEX, AMEXCO. American Express.

amidships. Toward the middle of a ship; the imaginary line that runs down the center of a ship.

amphibious. Capable of operating on land as well as sea.

Amtrak. Trade name of the U. S. National Railroad Passenger Corporation.

amusement park. A recreational attraction featuring mechanical rides and other forms of active entertainment. See also theme park.

AN. CRS. Added name.

anchor ball. A black ball hoisted over a ship's bow to indicate that it is anchored.

antebellum. Built or in existence prior to the American Civil War. Used primarily to describe historic buildings.

antipodean day. The day gained by crossing the International Date Line (qv). Also, called meridian day.

AP. Abr. American plan (qv).

apartheid. The former racist policy of South Africa, mandating the rigid separation of peoples by race.

APEX. CRS. Advance purchase excursion fare.

APHIS. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

Apollo. A computerized reservation system owned by United Airlines and the Covia Corp.

appointment. The process whereby an air carrier or other supplier certifies a travel agency to act as its agent.

apres-ski. Fr. Any activity that is scheduled after skiing.

APT. CRS. Airline passenger tariff.

aqueduct. A bridge-like structure, usually raised, designed to carry water or a canal.

arbiter, travel agent. An individual selected by a committee representing travel agents and air carriers and charged with the responsibility of settling disputes between travel agents and ARC (qv) and enforcing terms of the Agent Reporting Agreement (qv).

arbitrary fare. See add-on fare.

arbitration. A method of dispute resolution intended to avoid the high costs of legal action, typically conducted under rules established by the American Arbitration Association.

arbitration clause. A provision in a contract requiring any disputes between the parties involved to be submitted to arbitration, typically under rules established by the American Arbitration Association.

ARC. Airlines Reporting Corporation (qv).

ARC list. A list prepared by a travel agency and submitted to ARC (qv) or IATAN (qv) of agency employees eligible for travel benefits. Also referred to as "the agent eligibility list."

archipelago. A string of islands.

architectural bias. The tendency of a CRS (qv) to make it easier to find and book the flights of its sponsor by virtue of the way the system is designed.

archive. 1. v. To store in computerized form, as travel records. 2. n. A repository for documents or records. area bank. See Area Settlement Plan.

Area Settlement Plan. System administered by ARC on a regional basis to handle the processing of airline tickets, payments, and the disbursement of commissions to travel agencies. Also referred to as a Bank Settlement Plan.

ARINC. An airline-owned corporation providing communications and other services to the airline industry. Originally called Aeronautical Radio, Inc.

ARNK. CRS. (Pronounced "arunk.") Arrival unknown. Used to indicate the land portion of an air itinerary. ARR. CRS. Arrival.

ARTA. Association of Retail Travel Agents.

articles of incorporation. The formal legal description of a business' activities required for registration by the state.

arunk. Pronunciation of the acronym, ARNK (qv).

AS. CRS. Added segment.

ASAP. Abr. As soon as possible.

ASC. CRS. Advising schedule change.

ASP. Abr. Area Settlement Plan.

asset. Any property, real (i.e. real estate), personal, or intellectual (e.g. a trademark or copyright), which has a cash value.

AST. Abr. 1. Atlantic Standard Time (qv). 2. Alaska Standard Time.

ASTA. American Society of Travel Agents.

ASTAPAC. ASTA Political Action Committee.

astern. Toward the back of a ship.

asylum. See political asylum.

AT. CRS. Travel to be via the Atlantic Ocean.

ATA. Air Transport Association.

ATB. Abr. Automated ticket/boarding pass. An electronically generated ticket which also includes the boarding pass.

ATC. Air Traffic Conference of America, the predecessor to ARC.

ATFDS. Abr. Automated ticket and fare determination system.

athwart. adj. At right angles to a ship's keel.

Atlantic Standard Time. A Canadian time zone. Also called Provincial Standard Time.

ATM. Automated teller machine.

ATME. Association of Travel Marketing Executives.

ATO. Abr. Airport ticket office.

atoll. A ring-shaped tropical island or coral reef with a lagoon in the middle.

ATP. Airline Tariff Publishing Company.

atrium. A large open space in a building, usually topped by a glass roof, sometimes containing elaborate landscaping and ponds. A popular style of hotel lobby.

ATV. Abr. All-terrain vehicle (qv).

ATW. Around the world.

au pair. Fr. A young person, usually foreign, hired to provide child care and household help in exchange for room, board, a modest salary, and a chance to learn a new language.

auditorium style.In a meeting, a configuration in which seats are arranged in rows, facing front, as in a theat

aurora australis. "The Southern Lights." A colorful geomagnetic and electric display visible near the South Pole.

aurora borealis. "The Northern Lights." The Northern hemisphere's equivalent of the aurora australis.

Australasia. The region including Australia, New Zealand, and the major South Pacific islands.

auto drop PNR. A passenger name record (PNR) that has been flagged for automatic queuing on a CRS.

Autobahn. A network of high-speed superhighways in Germany and other European countries.

automated reservation system. Computerized reservation system (qv).

avail. Slang. Availability.

availability. The current inventory of seats, rooms, cabins, etc that can be sold or reserved.

available rooms. In a hotel, the number of rooms actually available for use on a given day, eliminating rooms not available due to damage, repairs, and so forth.

available seat miles. One seat, occupied or not, moved one mile. Used as a measure of airline capacity.

average daily rate. Statistical unit used to measure a hotel's pricing scale. Figure derived by dividing actual daily revenue by the total number of available rooms (qv).

Aviation Trust Fund. A federal reserve of tax monies levied on airline tickets and operations and set aside to improve the U.S. air transportation system.

AVIH. CRS. Animal in hold.

AVS. CRS. Availability status messages.

AWOL. Abr. Absent without leave. Pronounced both as individual letters and as an acronym. Term used to indicate the unauthorized absence of a crew member, as on a cruise ship.

AX. CRS. American Express.

B&B. n. Bed and breakfast. Traditionally, a private home which takes in guests, with breakfast included in the price of lodging. B&Bs can range from modest homes with one spare room to elaborately restored historic houses with luxury prices. Used increasingly to describe any lodging arrangement that includes breakfast, even in a hotel.

BA. CRS. BankAmericard.

back of the house. Support and service areas usually not seen by guests of a hotel or theme park.

back office. adj. Describing business activities, such as accounting, that typically take place out of the view of customers.

back to back. Sequential booking of two different tours, so that the traveler has a continuous journey. Also used to describe arrangements in which one group arrives as another departs.

back to back ticketing. A strategy used to reduce the cost of a round trip involving no Saturday stay when the cost of two excursions is less than the cost of one unrestricted fare. For example, if a traveler wants to fly from New York to Denver on Monday and return Thursday, he would purchase two excursions, one from New York to Denver beginning on the Monday and the other from Denver to New York departing on the Thursday. The traveler then uses only the outbound portion of each excursion. The itinerary can be designed in such a way that the return portions of each excursion can be used on another trip. A technically illegal practice discouraged by the airlines. Also called "nested excursions."

backhaul. 1. The movement of an airliner, or other vehicle, from a destination to the point of origin. 2. The shipment of cargo on a returning vehicle.

backwash. 1. A disturbance of the water caused by a ship's propellers turning in reverse. 2. The turbulence caused by the exhaust of a jet plane.

baggage. All of a passenger's or traveler's personal belongings, whether checked or unchecked. See also checked baggage and unchecked baggage.

baggage check. The claim check (qv) or receipt, usually numbered, issued to a passenger for his or her luggage.

baggage claim. The area at an airport or other terminal where passengers retrieve their checked luggage.

bagonize. Slang. To wait in agony at the airport luggage carousel for your luggage to appear.

bait and switch. An illegal sales tactic in which a consumer is lured by a low price only to be told that the "special offerÓ is no longer available and steered to a higher priced product.

baksheesh. Arabic. Literally, "gift." A constant refrain of street beggars, the word is also used to refer to "gifts" or bribes paid to facilitate business.